What happens when the flight crew are late

[Hallidon]

Recently returned from London Heathrow on QF010. The evening in London was cool overcast and drizzling with rain. Traffic on the way to the airport was chaotic as is to be expected in a major city such as London. We returned our hire car to Budget on the North perimeter road, took the bus, checked in and spent some time in the BA Lounge. As the time for departure neared we made our way to the gate, went through security and sat, along with all the other passengers for our flight. Erveryone was a little uncomfortable as there were insufficent seats, departure was in the evening so I suppose most were a little weary and ready to board and settle in for the flight. Boarding time passed and then there was the announcement, our boarding would be delayed by 30 minutes due to the LATE ARRIVAL OF THE CREW, WHO HAD BEEN DELAYED BY TRAFFIC ON THEIR WAY TO THE AIRPORT. I am sympathetic to the crew, London traffic is hell but if all the passengers can manage to check in on time and wait around for three hours before the flight, surely the crew can factor bad traffic into their arrival time at the airport ?

 

[markis10]

The crew dont make their own arrangements to get to the airport, they have a transfer arranged by the airline and local ground logistics, they are at the mercy of others just as much as you are. Often their transport pick-up time is known days in advance and they only meet with each other at that time.

The crew may have been at the airport before you (they need to do pre-flight work), however they may have arrived 30 minutes late and then the delay flowed on.

 

[straitman]

Recently returned from London Heathrow on QF010. The evening in London was cool overcast and drizzling with rain. Traffic on the way to the airport was chaotic as is to be expected in a major city such as London. We returned our hire car to Budget on the North perimeter road, took the bus, checked in and spent some time in the BA Lounge. As the time for departure neared we made our way to the gate, went through security and sat, along with all the other passengers for our flight. Erveryone was a little uncomfortable as there were insufficent seats, departure was in the evening so I suppose most were a little weary and ready to board and settle in for the flight. Boarding time passed and then there was the announcement, our boarding would be delayed by 30 minutes due to the LATE ARRIVAL OF THE CREW, WHO HAD BEEN DELAYED BY TRAFFIC ON THEIR WAY TO THE AIRPORT. I am sympathetic to the crew, London traffic is hell but if all the passengers can manage to check in on time and wait around for three hours before the flight, surely the crew can factor bad traffic into their arrival time at the airport ?

Hallidon,

Welcome to AFF.

As markis10 has said the crew is rostered by the airline and is picked up according to the roster. Who knows the crew van may have had an accident on the way, or broken down or simply been late itself. All outside the control of the flight and/or cabin crew. There are literally hundreds of these pickups each week and one delay out of that number is an inconvenience and a nuisance but not really the end of the world.

I do understand your sentiment though.

 

[Mundi]

As others stated, beyond their control, but clock on time will be at least an hour before ETD plus your 12 hour flight and then another 30min to knock off. Add the traffic delays in LHR, and I'd be pretty happy with their effort. And they turn around in a day and do it all again.

 

[anat0l]

Lucky the delay was a mere half-hour, or hour.

Probably any more than that and the EU regs would have given you some care provisions. By that time, everyone (airlines + pax) would be mightily pi**ed off.

 

[milehighclub]

I happened to operate that flight.

Transport picked us up from the hotel at 7pm. We officially sign on 1 hour prior to departure from overseas ports so they allow nearly 2 hours to get to the airport anyway. This is one of the longest durations for transport.

It took us just under 5 hours due to a fatal accident somewhere between the city and the airport. Unfortunately our bus also had a issue on the way to the airport, further delaying us as we had to change buses (in the pouring rain which I can assure you was no fun!).

The QF 2 was also delayed for the same reason as were a number of other airlines as well.

Crew transports times are the same time every day from every port for every flight. The only time it changes is when we move hotel.

 

[JetLagged]

Hallidon - Welcome to AFF!

Just one small picky point from your comments - you were happily ensconced in the BA Lounge - don't know about you but unless the board showed that it was now time to leave, I wouldn't have left the lounge. They know ahead if there are delays and allow us extra champagne time.

So sit back, relax - and be glad it was only 30 minutes - imagine the difference bewene that time and when a flight's departure is delayed 18 hours!

 

[russ]

You are lucky it wasn't Jetstar.
If the flight crew are late on Jetstar, they aren't allowed on the plane at all!

 

[grussellt]

This happened to us on QF32 leaving LHR on October 4.............but we were glad the crew were late. The M3/M25/Heathrow perimeter all suffered long periods of traffic at a standstill (well it was raining)and we were in it. A one hour trip took two and a half hours and we just made it. I think we knew why the crew were a bit late but we made up most of the delay before Singapore.

 

[Postcode]

I was unfortunate enough to be on a BA flight between LHR and CDG two years ago. After boarding we seemed to be sitting and waiting for much longer than usual.

Then came the announcement that BA in their lack of wisdom had failed to roster a second officer. (Insert silly Monty Pythonesque laugh here from the PA).

The flight crew was not just late. Not even rostered on.

Gach dea ghuí ó Chorcaigh

 

[Alanslegal]

It happens from time to time, even the pilot on my LAX-LAS was running late by a shade under an hour. Everyone was on-board, waiting, sitting, and then the announcement came that the pilot was stuck in L.A traffic

 

[tuapekastar]

Welcome to AFF Hallidon!

Sounds like an extremely rare traffic situation as described in a post above, and as mentioned the actual transport arrangements are out of crew hands, however I see exactly where you're coming from. The severity of the traffic situation notwithstanding, it must sound a little lame to hundreds of on-time and waiting pax to hear such an announcement/excuse.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I remember maybe 10 years ago that a CX pilot didn't show up for his Sat BNE/HKG flight as thought he was doing the flight the next day. CX did get a replacement pilot but the flight departed late - can't remember by how much though.

It would be really easy for that to happen as most of the time if you're a shift worker it's hard to remember what day it is sometimes & people are only human.

Despite being profusely apologetic the Captain was still summoned to Brushwing Barracks in HKG for a please explain to management. Don't know what the ramifications were. :shock:

 

[jb747]

Look at it from another angle. The crew are just starting work. It's already late evening, but by their body clock, it's early morning. They may, or may not, have managed to get some sleep. Chances of them having a decent sleep would be close to zero.

So, do you pick them up really early, and so allow for any possible problem on the way or allow for the normal time, plus a buffer (and I've done this trip a zillion times, and with only one exception, it was within about 10 minutes of the plan). The earlier you pick them up, unnecessarily, will make them more tired by the time the flight starts, and perhaps more importantly, by the time it ends.

Flight planning takes about 10 minutes. Getting through security takes anywhere from 5 minutes to 30, and as it is a staff only area, you can't jump the queue, 'cos everyone is is the same boat as you. Remember that once the crew duty clock starts it has a finite run time...controlled by law, not by whim.

Over 25 years of doing this flying I've been delayed a number of times. Never, thankfully, my fault, but I've had the range of traffic problems over the world.... a number of buses have broken down, including one that burnt to the ground. Security screening that suddenly takes a day per person....all the annoyances that hit you, get me every time I go to work.

Basically the jet will depart about 45 minutes after I get there, and it won't go without me....

 

[Sprucegoose]

I happened to operate that flight.

Where do you normally stay in London mhc?

 

[jpk]

a number of buses have broken down, including one that burnt to the ground.

This sounds like just one of many great stories you must have... and will hopefully share with us someday

 

[jpk]

spent some time in the BA Lounge. As the time for departure neared we made our way to the gate, went through security and sat, along with all the other passengers for our flight

Was the flight actually called in the lounge? (IME they do call the QF flights in the T3 BA lounge, knowing that QF pax are used to that and don't watch the screens)

 

[Boris spatsky]

Also remember that flight crew have only a limited duty day or number of hours they can work due to fatigue limitations. They can't be at the airport 3 hours early because then the duty clock starts ticking. It's a fine line sometimes! So cut them some slack, especially in LA or London!

 

[serfty]

What I do not understand is the OP "left the BA Lounge" and "went through security" before reaching the gate. This does not gel with my recent experience. I certainly cannot recall any secondary security inspection.

I flew on QF10 to LHR-MEL last month and the BA lounge in T3 is airside - i.e. you need to pass though security before getting to the lounge.

Before boarding, It is a simple matter to walk back from the gate to the lounge should the flight be delayed.

 

[samh004]

What I do not understand is the OP "left the BA Lounge" and "went through security" before reaching the gate. This does not gel with my recent experience. I certainly cannot recall any secondary security inspection.

I flew on QF10 to LHR-MEL last month and the BA lounge in T3 is airside - i.e. you need to pass though security before getting to the lounge.

Before boarding, It is a simple matter to walk back from the gate to the lounge should the flight be delayed.

I have a similar view, when travelling to AGP we were in a gate lounge and there might have been a secondary screening point, I can’t quite recall, but when heading back to Australia there wasn’t. Well not until I hit SIN at least